Rat snakes: would they kill chickens?

kumquat1April 3, 2010

I live in a semi-rural old "neighborhood" that is surrounded by water, highways and other old neighborhoods.

I grew up on the property, as my dad built the house in 1936. We bought it when the folks passed away. When I was growing up we occasionally saw snakes, and of course with the mentality at the time, they were promptly killed. We never, ever had mice or rats come into the house, even though a neighbor had dogs and hogs in those days and there was probably food items for rodents around. Never had a mouse. Now, we get them every winter. It is very tiring, so I investigated getting a rat snake from a pet store and setting it loose. Would a rat snake kill my chickens on their roosts at night, or even in the daytime?

Rat snakes are great little mousers! That said, they would kill and eat chicks, and they will go after eggs if possible. We have a resident rat snake in the barn, and he/she (never got the opportunity to ask) hasn't hurt anything but the mice. Hens are too large to be prey for them, and anyway, they seem to prefer rats and mice, bless their hearts!